“I was surprised,” said Cortina, a recent graduate of Occidental College in Los Angeles with a bachelor’s degree in art history and visual arts. “I didn’t realize how many people are enjoying it as much as we did.”

About 25 people were involved in the project—his thesis film—from pre-production to post-production.

Thirteen students from nine U.S. colleges and universities as well as three students from universities abroad have been selected as winners of the prestigious awards. They will be in Los Angeles for a week of industry activities that will culminate in the awards ceremony, hosted by Saget, on Saturday, June 8, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

A committee of Academy members viewed finalists from three regions, and “Bottled Up” was selected as a medal winner. The medal placements – gold, silver and bronze – in each of the award categories will be announced at the June 8 ceremony.

Cortina earned honors in the “Alternative” category for his 14–minute film, “Bottled Up,” the story of Amos, a dockworker caught in the current of monotony. “It’s a fantasy film about hopes and dreams,” Cortina said. “His only refuge is a wish bottle that contains his desire to escape the mundane.”

The New York City native got the idea for the film at an Apple store in Pasadena where he used to work. He saw a shipping pallet on the ground that made him think of dockworkers, and he surmised a concern for them might be upward mobility. So he incorporated that into his film, which he knew he wanted to deal with religion or race. “Wishing and praying are allegories for religion in the film,” he said during a telephone interview from Los Angeles.

“Bottled Up” is not currently publicly available.

Other categories in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Student Academy Awards are animation, documentary, narrative and foreign film.

The Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level.

Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 46 Oscar nominations and have won or shared eight awards. The roster includes such distinguished filmmakers as John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Robert Zemeckis, Trey Parker and Spike Lee.

The Academy’s hope for Cortina and all of the students who participate in the Student Academy Awards is that they achieve the level of success in their chosen fields as past winners.

Cortina, who learned about filmmaking under the tutelage of Edward Hing at Williston Northampton, would like to direct and produce films, television programs or commercials.
He plans to “network” at the June 8 ceremony “and see if anything comes of it.”

Asked what he likes about filmmaking, he replied, “the power of telling a story and the visual media.”

This year marks the first year that a submission from Occidental College has placed in the medal round.

“It is a special moment for Rafael, Occidental College and everyone who supported Rafael in making ‘Bottled Up,’” said Patrick Harrison, New York program director.

Cortina has worked on sets for programs such as Sesame Street, The Learning Channel, Citibank and The New York Stock Exchange.

He founded his production company, Flavor Films, in 2007 and works on all productions as a producer or director.

Among his achievements in high school, he screened a short film at Amherst Cinema that he created to promote the Green Team, a school club aimed at promoting practices that protect the environment.

One of the challenges in creating “Bottled Up” was raising $3,000 for it; the project garnered $2,700 on Kickstarter.com.

“I could not have done it without an amazing cast and crew,” he said, sounding like an award recipient. “I’m excited people like the film as much as I do.”